RTEC Mobile Lanka soon to launch as a GSM operator in Sri Lanka

On 12.30.08, In Mobile, By Editor

RTEC Mobile Lanka, a privately owned telco is all set to launch itself as a GSM and SCDMA operator in the Sri Lankan telecommunication market. According to the Managing Director of RTEC Mobile Lanka B.A.C. Abeywardena, the telco will provide mobile (GSM) services and fixed phone with broadband internet services islandwide.
The service provider is expected to invest $100 million in the project initially. The firm has obtained TRC approval and planning to commence their operations within six months and intends a 100% coverage in two years.
The fixed phones will be manufactured in China according to designs provided by the company and the GSM equipment will also be imported from China. RTEC Mobile Lanka will set up 1000 base stations in the country and also expects to utilise the existing base stations to provide the service.

“We are confident that we could compete with the other players in the industry by providing our services for a cheaper rate with high quality. The company expects to price its call charges at least 25 per cent less than the cheapest call charges available in the market at the moment, he said.
“Maintaing minimum operational cost and using local expertise could help us to provide our services for a lesser price. We are planning to manufacture most of our equipment in the country”.
“We think this is the right time to enter into the market even with the current economic conditions. The whole world is facing an economic crisis and it will last for another one to two years. “This economic crises has resulted in price declines in construction goods and lessened competitiveness. It will create more opportunities for newcomers, he said.   

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FNAC sells contract-free iPhone 3G in France

On 12.30.08, In Mobile, By Editor

After the recent ruling by the French telecoms regulator, the people in France will now be able to buy an iPhone 3G without the contract which is Apple-sanctioned for Orange.
The French retailer FNAC is now selling a contract-free version of the black 8GB iPhone for $1,123, while black or white 16GB models are fetching $1,263. The cost will be five times more than the $210.01 in-contract cost for the 8GB model sold by Orange.
   

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Government of Sultanate of Oman stops Omantel sale process

On 12.30.08, In Mobile, By Editor

Oman’s Ministry of Finance today announced that it has taken the conscious decision to stop the proposed sale of a 25% stake in Omantel to a strategic partner as a result of the current conditions in the global capital markets.

H.E. Darwish Ismail Al Balushi, Secretary General of the Ministry of Finance and Chairman of the Steering Committee overseeing the Omantelstrategic partnership process, said, “Despite the solid progress we have made with the sale process to date, and the continued strong interest shown by the bidders, the unprecedented market volatility and economic conditions that we are seeing globally has led to the Government taking the prudent decision to stop the sale process.”

Omantel has continued to record strong operational and financial performance, with profits for the nine months to 30 September 2008 increasing by 29.6% to RO106.9m compared to RO82.6m recorded during the same period in 2007. Revenues in the quarter grew 16.7% to RO314.5m compared to RO269.5m for the same period last year.

The sale process was launched in July 2008 to find a strategic partner to further strengthen Omantel’s market position and establish Omantel as a world-class provider of telecommunications services both in the Sultanate and internationally.

About Omantel
Omantel is the incumbent telecommunications operator in the Sultanate of Oman and provides a full spectrum of telecom services, including fixed line, mobile and internet services. Omantel is the sole fixed line service provider in Oman, with 270,000 subscribers in 2007, and the market leader in mobile communications in the country, with 1.49m subscribers, representing a 60% market share, in 2007. Omantel has grown strongly between 2005-2007, with subscribers growing by 14% CAGR, revenues by 16% CAGR to US$950m, EBITDA by 21% CAGR to US$502m and Net Income by 29% CAGR to US$293m.

Omantel underwent partial privatisation in 2005 when it was listed on the Muscat Securities Market. The Government currently retains a 70% stake with the remaining 30% publicly listed.

For more information, please visit www.omantel.net.om

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Vodafone UK begins ‘Vodafone IOU’ service

On 12.30.08, In Mobile, By Editor

Vodafone UK has introduced “Vodafone IOU” which is an out-of-credit service for PAYG users. The subscribers who add the IOU service will get a £2 credit to use when their normal credit runs out, charged at 30 pence, the next time the user tops up (plus the £2 they owe). This service can be for voice, text, browsing, or music track downloads.

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India reports a mobile subscriber base of 336.08Mn, Bharti Airtel tops the chart

On 12.30.08, In Mobile, By Editor

India’s telecom sector has reportedly added 10.35 million mobile subscribers in the month of November, in comparison to 10.42 million in October. The subscriber base of mobile users in India reaches the mark of 336.08 million at the end of November, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said in a statement.
Bharti Airtel, country’s leading mobile operator added 2.72 million users in November, totalling its subscriber base to 82.92 million. Followed by Reliance Communications which added 1.76 million users and took its subscriber base to 59.56 million subscribers. Vodafone Essar added 20.60 million users, taking its total number of subscribers to 58.76 million. BSNL’s reported a subscriber base of 44.57 million after adding 700,937 subscribers in November.

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NatWest launches mobile money service for its Polish customers (UK)

On 12.30.08, In Mobile, By Editor

UK based bank, launches new mobile money service for its Polish customers with Welcome Accounts enablink them to send money home to Poland. The commission-free, international mobile phone payments transfer service allows customers to transfer money from their current accounts in the UK to their PKO BP accounts in Poland. It becomes the first UK bank to launch an international money transfer service via mobile phone. Roy Vella, Group Director of Mobile for NatWest, said the company’s research shows that the UK Polish community sends home GBP 1 billion each year. The service is provided in co-operation with mobile banking company Monilink, a JV between Monitise and VocaLink.

   

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T-Mobile brings BlackBerry Curve 8900 to USA in February

On 12.30.08, In Mobile, By Editor

Research In Motion’s new and improved BlackBerry Curve will reportedly be available in the United States via T-Mobile USA. It is already available in Germany, the UK, and Canada, with the U.S. release is anticipated to take place on 18th February’09. No financial details are yet disclosed for the new device.

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India to auction 3G spectrum on 30th Jan’09

On 12.30.08, In Mobile, By Editor

The 3G spectrum auction will take place on 30th January’09. Govt has postponed it by 15 days. According to Telecom Secretary, Siddartha Behura, In view of the large number of requests from the potential bidders, it is only fair that they should be given some time. Accordingly, it is decided that the auction process be shifted by a fortnight. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs decision will be available by then. After the decision, we will have a clear mandate to proceed according to their decision.

New Revised Timeline:

Jan 9: Applications will be invited
Jan 15: Final date for submitting the application
Jan 20: Bidder ownership compliance certificate will be given for the 3G auction
Jan 22: Prequalified bidders will be shortlisted
Jan 27-28: Mock auction
Jan 30: Auction will take place

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Orange brings 3G+ service to its subscribers in Northern Ireland and Scotland

On 12.30.08, In Mobile, By Editor

Orange Ireland brings faster mobile voice and data services to the country. Orange completes its new 3G+ network in Northern Ireland, giving customers, living, working or travelling in the country access to even more reliable voice and data services. Northern Ireland and Scotland have both benefitted from the recent upgrade programme. Some 760 sites across the areas have been upgraded resulting in a 20 per cent improvement in network performance for both voice and data.

“We are delighted to announce the new network has gone live in Northern Ireland”, said Pete Marsden, vice president IT & Networks. “At Orange we are proud of our commitment to give all our customers access to robust and reliable networks. We are investing heavily in updating and improving our infrastructure to meet our goal of being the best UK network for coverage and reliability.”
Orange now offers over 94% population 3G coverage and over 70% 3G+ across the UK.

   

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Motorola launches M-Com solutions for consumers

On 12.30.08, In Mobile, By Editor

Motorola announced that the company has launched a mobile commerce solution for financial and retail merchandising needs.

The solution, according to the company, consisting of an M-Wallet and back-end management platform, has been deployed by Union Mobile Pay (UMPay), a mobile payment company established by China Mobile Communications Corp. (CMCC) and China UnionPay.

Motorola said that the fmobile commerce deployment in China marks a significant milestone in its global M-Commerce initiatives.

According to the company, Motorola’s M-Wallet solution provides enhanced user interface with secured and reliable service as compared to existing technologies based on Short Message Service (SMS), Interactive Voice Response (IVR), Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) and Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). Consumers can personalize financial needs such as account inquiries, money transfers, bill payments, utility payments and e-ticketing on their mobile phones, which will eliminate the need to go to banks or carry bank cards. In addition to mobile banking, the platform also provides business-to-consumer (B2C) solutions for merchants that include merchant membership cards, electronic couponing and prepaid cards.

In addition to the end-user mobile solutions for banking and merchandising needs, Motorola’s mobile commerce offering also includes a back-end management platform. The back-end management platform, part of the Motorola’s Service Delivery Framework called GAMA (Global Application Management Architecture), is interoperable with back-office network elements for OSS/BSS for mobile network operators, financial institutions and merchants, the company said.

“The M-Commerce market is rapidly evolving,” said T.K. Ng, General Manager of Motorola Global Services, Home & Networks Mobility, Motorola China. “Solutions like M-Wallet provide network operators, financial institutions and merchants with distinct advantages, giving customers convenience, speed and simplicity, allowing them to shop or perform bank transactions whenever and wherever they want. The M-Wallet solution deployment for UMPay underscores our commitment to making M-Commerce a reality. Not only does our flexible end-to-end solution simplify end users’ day-to-day tasks, but it also streamlines electronic transactions and optimizes the customer management processes for service providers, financial institutions and retailers.”

“We are the leader in offering a mobile payment platform in China, and we see tremendous value in our relationship with Motorola to further strengthen our position in the market,” said Zhang Bin, Managing Director of UMPay. “With Motorola’s expertise and experience in M-Commerce, we can create new solutions and services that address the needs of customers, bringing easy to use, secure and reliable services to them.”

For more information, please visit www.motorola.com 

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